The Elon University volleyball team capped off their three-game homestand with its third straight victory over North Carolina Central University. Like the previous two matchups, Elon won in three straight sets, which now marks nine consecutive sets the team has won.
Offensively, the Phoenix were efficient tallying 39 kills in all three sets, 12 more than NC Central. Head coach Matt Troy said he was proud of how his players were always looking to find the open threat whenever they had an opportunity to score.
“Every hitter that’s on our floor has the ability to score at any moment,” Troy said. “It’s finding where we can get the one-on-one, or where we can take advantage with our speed when we’re in transition play.”
That formula was especially present during the first set. Elon controlled the pace of the match, finishing with 13 kills while limiting NC Central to only seven. After starting off the set tied at four, the Phoenix outscored NC Central 21-10 the rest of the way.
Senior middle blocker Lindsey Harris paced the team with four kills, and junior middle blocker Carolina Berlekamp clinched the 25-14 victory with a kill. It was Elon’s most lopsided win of the three sets.
The second set appeared to have a similar script as Elon raced out to a 14-9 lead before NC Central clawed back to take the lead 21-20. Graduate transfer and outside hitter Simrin Carlsen said NC Central made some adjustments that Elon had trouble dissecting at first.
“There were some breakdowns in the system,” Carlsen said. “I think we were a bit slow to change some of the things we were seeing. They came back and were showing us some new looks.”
However, Elon rallied with a 25-22 victory thanks to three kills in the final sequence. Carlsen’s third kill of the set sealed the win for the Phoenix.
Troy said the players did a fantastic job maintaining their composure, even as NC Central tried to comeback. He described it as a process and stated it was important for the team to learn how to finish games in which they are ahead.
“The biggest thing is how to stay composed in those tense moments,” Troy said. “I think that was something they showed tonight that I was really proud of.”
Despite the missed opportunity for a win, NC Central came out strong in the beginning of the third set. Three ace serves by junior outside hitter Madi Disu helped give NC Central a 7-3 lead.
However, Elon would storm back finishing the game on a 22-11 run. Despite finishing with 10 kills, their lowest total of the three sets, the Phoenix ended up winning 25-18.
This victory keeps intact Troy’s first winning streak as Elon’s head coach. Hired from Johns Hopkins University in December, he said the team’s belief has been rapidly growing in the last few games.
“You can just see their confidence increasing as we’ve gone through the season,” Troy said. “We’ve played some tough teams early to allow us these opportunities when we feel like we have teams we should be able to compete against.”
Carlsen, who played for Troy at Johns Hopkins, said she admires how the team has responded to Troy’s system. She said a new coach coming in can be an adjustment, and added that winning games certainly helps.
“It’s tough coming in with a new coach and a new way of doing things,” Carlsen said. “It takes a group of girls that are really willing to adapt, and I think that they've shown that.”
With the win, Elon is now 4-8 on the year. The team will travel to Radford University for a match 4 p.m. Sept. 27.